Aspirants for the House of Representatives Speakership, Aliyu Betara, and Yusuf Gagdi, have stepped down for Tajudeen Abbas.
The development was a sequel to a meeting between the aspirants and President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday.
Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media and Publicity, Tinubu/Shettima Campaign, made this known in a tweet on his official handle.
The meeting was attended by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and Niger Governor, Mohammed Bago who was also a member of the 9th Assembly.
When contacted, an aide to Hon. Gagdi confirmed the incident. He said: “Have you seen the video making the round after a meeting with the President and the Vice President? That is the position for now. You can write your story along that line’.
The Tajudeen Abbas/Benjamin Kalu media campaign team announced Betara and Gagdi have stepped down from the race.
The campaign team said: “It is worthy to note that Betara and Gagdi announced that they stepped down for Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas today, Sunday June 11, 2023 after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
“As of Sunday June 11, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (PhD) has secured the endorsement of the overwhelming majority of members-elect across the eight political parties in the six geopolitical zones, and he is ready to compete on the floor of the House and take the mantle of leadership of the 10th House come Tuesday, June 13, 2023”.
With the withdrawal of Betara and Gagdi from the race, only Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase, Sani Jaji and Sada Soli are left to slug it out with Abbas when the House is inaugurated on Tuesday.
